Friday, March 27, 2015

“We are not on earth to guard a museum,
but to cultivate a flowering garden of life.”

– Pope John XXIII

The Wild Reed’s series of reflections on religion and spirituality continues with Richard Rohr's thoughts on the mystical element of Christianity and thus the evolutionary nature of authentic religion.

There were clear statements in the New Testament giving a cosmic meaning to Christ (Colossians 1, Ephesians 1, John 1, 1 John 1, and Hebrews 1:1-4), and the schools of Paul and John were initially overwhelmed by the hope contained in this message. In the early Christian era, a few Eastern Fathers (such as Origen of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa, and Maximus the Confessor) noticed that the Christ was clearly something older, larger, and different than Jesus himself. They mystically saw that Jesus is the union of human and divine in one person, and the Christ is the eternal union of matter and Spirit from the beginning of time. But the later centuries tended to lose this mystical element in favor of a more dualistic Christianity. We were all the losers. What we could not unite in Jesus, we could not unite in ourselves!

Christianity became another moralistic religion (which loved to be on top). It was overwhelmingly aligned with a very limited period of history (empire building through war) and a small piece of the planet (Europe), not the whole earth or any glorious destiny (Romans 8:18ff) for us all. Not surprisingly, many Christians ended up tragically fighting evolution--along with most early human rights struggles (such as women's suffrage, rights for those on the margins, racism, classism, homophobia, earth care, and slavery) – because we had no evolutionary notion of Christ who was forever "groaning in one great act of giving birth" (Romans 8:22). Until the reforms of the 1960's and the Second Vatican Council, Roman Catholic Christianity was overwhelmingly a tribal religion and hardly "catholic" at all.

We should have been at the forefront of all of these love and justice issues. The Christian religion was made-to-order – to grease the wheels of human consciousness toward love, nonviolence, justice, inclusivity, love of creation, and the universality of such a message. Mature religion serves as a conveyor belt for the evolution of human consciousness. Immature religion actually stalls people at very early stages of . . . tribal consciousness, while they are convinced they [have all the answers] or "saved." This is more a part of the problem than any kind of solution. Only the non-dual and mystical mind gets you all the way through.

On Sunday, March 15, 2015, my family celebrated the wedding of my nephew Ryan and his partner Farah in Melbourne's beautiful Fitzroy Gardens. A reception followed at an establishment in nearby Richmond.

Right: My parents Gordon and Margaret Bayly on the morning of the happy event.

Left: Standing at right with my brothers Chris and Tim. Chris is Ryan's dad.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

While recently in Melbourne with family members for my nephew's wedding, I spent much of Friday, March 13 driving along part of the Great Ocean Road with Mum and my good friend Joan. As you can see from the following photos, it is a very beautiful part of Australia.

The Great Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage listed 243 kilometres (151 miles) stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Allansford. Built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932 and dedicated to soldiers killed during World War I, the road is the world's largest war memorial. Winding through varying terrain along the coast and providing access to several prominent landmarks, including the Twelve Apostles limestone stack formations, the road is an important tourist attraction in the region.

Given my interest in evolutionary spirituality and my creation back in Minnesota of the workshop "Companions on a Sacred Journey," I was happy to see an op-ed on evolutionary spirituality in the most recent edition of the Australian publication The Catholic Leader.

Written by Br. John Venard, FMS for his regular column "Sacred Space," this op-ed doesn't actually use the term evolutionary spirituality. Venard does talk a lot, however, about "cosmology," which he describes as "the branch of astronomy concerned with the evolution and structure of the universe."

Venard notes that creation is an on-going process set in motion by God and that humans have a specific role to play in this process. That combination of cosmology and theology is, of course, a key component of evolutionary spirituality.

I have some issues with Venard's op-ed; the apparent contradiction that many struggle with of an all-powerful God versus an all-loving God is, for example, unacknowledged and unexplored. Ditto for the "specific role" that we as humans have to play in God's ongoing creation. That's all unfortunate. Still, other aspects of Venard's piece serve as a helpful introduction to evolutionary spirituality, even if the term itself is never uttered. Hopefully, such an articulation will be the focus of Venard's next "Sacred Space" column. Indeed, the title of his column lends itself beautifully to an ongoing exploration of evolutionary spirituality!

Following is an excerpt from Venard's op-ed from the March 15, 2015 issue of The Catholic Leader.

Cosmology is the branch of astronomy concerned with the evolution and structure of the universe.

Powerful telescopes and orbiting satellites have given scientists much more information for discovering the mystery of creation.

The universe consists mainly of galaxies and enormous systems of stars. There are millions of these and in them are found solar systems with assemblages of planets, satellites, milky ways, comets and meteorites.

[At a recent lecture on cosmology] we were shown a picture of one Milky Way and amongst the multitude of white specs was an arrow -- this is you. It was the tiniest of little specs and by reflecting on the size of our earth we could get a faint idea of the immensity of the universe. But more mind-boggling facts emerged as we got into the distances involved and measurements of light years (the distance light will travel in one year) had to be used.

When and how did creation originate?

Is the hypothesis of the "Big Bang" of 12 billion years ago the answer? It is only a theory but remembering Galileo, I am keeping an open mind on the matter.

Does this do away with God? Just the opposite.

It increases my faith because a God of complete goodness, wisdom and love, all-powerful and all-knowing, caused the "Big Bang." This set [God's] on-going creation in motion and now we are part of it with a specific role to play. Isn't this great news?

I established The Wild Reed in 2006 as a sign of solidarity with all who are dedicated to living lives of integrity – though, in particular, with gay people seeking to be true to both the gift of their sexuality and their Catholic faith. The Wild Reed's original by-line read, "Thoughts and reflections from a progressive, gay, Catholic perspective." As you can see, it reads differently now. This is because my journey has, in many ways, taken me beyond, or perhaps better still, deeper into the realities that the words "progressive," "gay," and "Catholic" seek to describe.

Even though reeds can symbolize frailty, they may also represent the strength found in flexibility. Popular wisdom says that the green reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak which breaks in a storm. Tall green reeds are associated with water, fertility, abundance, wealth, and rebirth. The sound of a reed pipe is often considered the voice of a soul pining for God or a lost love.

On September 24, 2012,Michael BaylyofCatholics for Marriage Equality MNwas interviewed by Suzanne Linton of Our World Today about same-sex relationships and why Catholics can vote 'no' on the proposed Minnesota anti-marriage equality amendment.

Readers write . . .

"I believe your blog to be of utmost importance for all people regardless of their orientation. . . . Thank you for your blog and the care and dedication that you give in bringing the TRUTH to everyone."– William

"Michael, if there is ever a moment in your day or in your life when you feel low and despondent and wonder whether what you are doing is anything worthwhile, think of this: thanks to your writing on the internet, a young man miles away is now willing to embrace life completely and use his talents and passions unashamedly to celebrate God and his creation. Any success I face in the future and any lives I touch would have been made possible thanks to you and your honesty and wisdom."– AB

"Since I discovered your blog I have felt so much more encouraged and inspired knowing that I'm not the only gay guy in the Catholic Church trying to balance my Faith and my sexuality. Continue being a beacon of hope and a guide to the future within our Church!"– Phillip

"Your posts about Catholic issues are always informative and well researched, and I especially appreciate your photography and the personal posts about your own experience. I'm very glad I found your blog and that I've had the chance to get to know you."– Crystal

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"I cannot claim to be an expert on Catholic blogs, but from what I've seen, The Wild Reed ranks among the very best."– Kevin

"Reading your blog leaves me with the consolation of knowing that the words Catholic, gay and progressive are not mutually exclusive.."– Patrick

"I grieve for the Roman institution’s betrayal of God’s invitation to change. I fear that somewhere in the midst of this denial is a great sin that rests on the shoulders of those who lead and those who passively follow. But knowing that there are voices, voices of the prophets out there gives me hope. Please keep up the good work."– Peter

"I ran across your blog the other day looking for something else. I stopped to look at it and then bookmarked it because you have written some excellent articles that I want to read. I find your writing to be insightful and interesting and I'm looking forward to reading more of it. Keep up the good work. We really, really need sane people with a voice these days."– Jane Gael